Westminster College is thrilled to share that the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, made up of media organizations, academic institutions, and advocacy groups, including the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College, is the winner of Current's 2022 “Local that Works” award. Out of nearly 100 entries from collaborative groups nationwide, the Great Salt Lake Collaborative won the grand prize of $20,000.
According to Current Magazine, the collaborative has produced about 150 stories covering issues surrounding the Great Salt Lake. Many of the journalists covering the lake have often turned to Dr. Bonnie Baxter and her team of student scientists with the Great Salt Lake Institute as a resource for accurate scientific data. “We have partners in the collaborative who are researchers, who are in academia and education, who make the Great Salt Lake the focus of their work every single day,” said Mckenzie Romero, Utah Editor at Deseret News.
Dr. Bonnie Baxter says that despite the devastating effects low water levels are having on this vital ecosystem, it is an exciting time to be a student scientist studying the rapid changes happening at the lake. “It’s fulfilling to know that our science is being shared and that an entire community of competing media groups are coming together to reach Utahns, including lawmakers who can influence water policy and conservation methods,” said Dr. Bonnie Baxter, Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College.
The Great Salt Lake Collaborative is quickly becoming a model for other communities around the country and changing the way news is produced. “Initially I was skeptical and suspicious about the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, but I will say it’s had a lot of benefit,” said Ben Winslow with FOX13. “When everybody’s united you have a wider range of resources, you have a wider range of viewpoints, you have a wider range of sources, and ultimately it benefits the community you’re here to serve. It’s a different shift in how we do journalism and I’m kinda getting into it,” he continued.
Lauren Gustus, Executive Editor for the Salt Lake Tribune, adds that something as big and as important as the Great Salt Lake requires all of us to come together for the greater good. “Being able to bring people together who care about something has been a pretty powerful experience,” said Gustus.
To learn more, read the article in Current Magazine and watch the video of the awards ceremony.
Original source can be found here.
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